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Tobacco products being sold openly to minors
Digging damages phone cables |
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Families living near international border deprived of benefits
Varsity witnesses rush of admission-seekers
Students wait for admission to the Sociology Department of Jammu University. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
Campus Notes
Students set to celebrate Teacher’s Day
Initiative to bring together separated couple
Leopard panic in Chenani, Pouni villages
Srinagar diary
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Tobacco products being sold openly to minors
Jammu, September 4 Though the law has made it mandatory for the tobacco sellers to display a notice saying that the items would not be sold to people below the age of 18, the sellers are openly flouting the norms and are selling the products to youngsters. “Due of the threat of the police, the sellers don’t put their kiosks outside school premises. But, a large number of students could be seen purchasing these items from sellers after the school hours,” said Prem Kumar, teacher of a local school. He said: “We ask our students to desist from purchasing and consuming these items. But these sellers attract them and despite the ban, sell such products”. A large number of such kiosks selling tobacco products could also be seen outside the city hospitals. These kiosks could be seen selling tobacco products outside SMGS Hospital in Jammu. The law-enforcing agencies don’t ask them to shift from there as a large number of children are brought to the hospital daily. “The sale and the usage of tobacco products have a negative impact on young brains. They want to try the products and soon become addict to them,” said a doctor in the hospital. He said the hospital authorities time and again had requested the authorities concerned to remove the kiosks away from the hospital, but they had not done it so far. Though as per law, the sale of tobacco and its products is prohibited outside schools, religious places and hospitals, the sellers continue to flout norms. “The sale of tobacco products is openly going on outside hospitals and at various places outside schools also. I have seen many places outside schools where the sale of tobacco products is openly going on and the authorities don’t take any action,” said Pawan Sharma, an environmentalist. Senior officers of the Police Department say they have constituted squads to check that the tobacco products are not sold to schoolchildren and these kiosks are not placed outside any educational institutes. “Our squads are frequently monitoring this and if the sellers violate norms they would be harshly dealt with. If we find someone selling such products to schoolchildren we would punish him as per the law,” a senior police officer said. |
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Digging damages phone cables
Kathua, September 4 A 1,000-pair cable was massively damaged at Tangri Morh, near Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park here, where 700 telephone connections remained dead for days together. The BSNL authorities have blamed the state Public Health Engineering (PHE) department for “unorganised” digging while laying pipes in the area. Due to the damage to the cable, the entire residential area, adjacent to the Police Lines, and Doordarshan and Radio Station remained cut off for the want of communication facilities. Among the high-profile victims were the deputy commissioner (DC) and Superintendent of Police, whose residential telephones remained non-functional for three consecutive days. Due to the snag, the Internet facility in the area also remained affected. As a result, work at local branches of the State Bank of India and Jammu and Kashmir Bank remained affected. Confirming the damage caused to the 1,000-pair telephone cable at Tangri Morh, Sanjeev Sharma, SDPO, said the incident took place on August 30, when the PHE authorities reportedly pressed its unskilled labourers to dig the road for laying water pipes in the area. “Before undertaking the digging work, the PHE officials should have contacted us so as to avoid damage to the cable and the inconvenience caused to our subscribers”, Sharma said. He said it took BSNL engineers and technicians over three days to repair the damaged cable. “Initially, we restored the important numbers as some government offices and residential quarters were also affected. The restoration process is still on as pairs are to be carefully reconnected,” he said. The BSNL officer said underground telephone cables were also damaged in a similar fashion on the 3-km long Kali Bari-Kathua road, which is presently being widened by a different agency under the ERA scheme. “As many as 500 subscribers complained of nonfunctioning of their landline telephones this week”, he said. Sharma stated that the BSNL had lodged a formal protest with the PHE authorities for the damage caused to the underground cables. An official of the PHE department, however, said the digging of roads was necessary to lay water pipes to augment the supply of drinking water in the area after the commissioning of tubewell at Patel Nagar.
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Families living near international border deprived of benefits
Srinagar, September 4 MLAs representing these areas were vociferous in their demands in the Assembly that these families should be identified and given the same benefits as being given to those living near the LoC. Chaman Lal Gupta and Sukhnandan of the BJP have raised the issue in the House and were supported by many MLAs even as the government said it was sympathetic to the demand. The IB is accepted by both countries while LoC, which runs through Kashmir and a large part of the Jammu division as well, is disputed. But both countries have agreed to respect its sanctity while trying to find a permanent solution. However, it has not stopped the Pakistani army from firing into the Indian areas near the IB, turning the lives of those living there almost as miserable as those living near the LoC. Gupta says the state cabinet in 2000 decided to identity all families living within 8 km of the IB so that they could also enjoy benefits like reservation in professional institutions or armed forces. The deputy commissioners of the then undivided Jammu and Kathua districts, under which the IB falls, had been directed to identify such families, but nothing moved since then, Gupta adds. Though Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, who was a Cabinet Minister in the then Farooq Abdullah government, in his reply expressed his ignorance of any such order, he admitted that the government would act soon. However, official assurance of action hardly reassures anybody as people continue to suffer. The MLAs say a large stretch of the IB has been fenced, bringing a huge stretch of land under fencing. “Farmers can’t till their lands and have not been compensated as well. Poor people living along the border need more attention from the government but they are being neglected,” Sukhnandan says.
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Varsity witnesses rush of admission-seekers
Jammu, September 4 The first cut-off lot of the PG courses came out
on August 31 after which the process gained an impetus. Departments of sociology, political science, history, zoology and botany are witnessing a huge rush for
admissions. Sociology is one of the most preferred subjects. Anita Rajput who is seeking admission to the Sociology
Department, says: “This subject makes us familiar with the society. I have a lot of interest in the subject. This is new and easy to
comprehend. That is why I am taking admission in this subject”. Similar views were echoed by other students
who, too, were waiting for their turn for admission. Students taking admission to the Political Science and History Departments maintain that they have opted for the subjects because they want to qualify for the Civil Services. Around 900 students have applied against 50 seats in the Political Science Department and around 600 students have applied to the History Department against 50 seats. Rohit Sharma, an admission-seeker to the Political Science Department, said: “I have taken admission in the subject because I think this might help me qualify for the Civil Services
examination.” Imytyaz Khan, another candidate, who had come from Poonch expressed his interest in history and said: “I did my graduation in history and have interest in it. I think the subject will help me in qualifying for the civil services, besides giving me knowledge about our past,” In the science stream, students also expressed their interest for zoology and
botany. Students opting for the two subjects mentioned that they find this subject easy and interesting as compared
to others. Around 1150 students have applied to the Education Department whereas the number of seats available is 60. The department witnesses a huge rush of students every
year. |
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Varsity urged to announce results
Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 4 Student leaders have also demanded the declaration of results of students who had applied for re-evaluation in various courses. They have also demanded a provision of rechecking/re-evaluation in the MPhil examination and the conduct of viva voce examination of MPhil and PhD scholars within two months of the submission of their dissertation/thesis. Induction
programme The Business School (TBS) recently organised an induction programme at the Convention Hall to welcome the 22nd MBA batch for the session 2009-11. For the first time, admission to the MBA programme in TBS has been made through CAT after having shifted from MAT last year. Director Neelu Rohmetra highlighted the vision of TBS and stressed on the holistic development of the students. She also introduced the students to the curricula and the specialisations offered in the MBA Programme. Scholars
thank VC Research scholars of the Department of Urdu have extended gratitude to Vice-Chancellor Varun Sahni for appointing Prof Shohab Inayat Malik as the head of the department. Mumtaz Kouser, a research scholar, said, “Since he took over the charge of the department on August 1, he has brought several changes which will help the scholars to work without any inconvenience”. She further added that keeping in view the deteriorating condition of the department, the HoD had started renovation work, which was in its completion phase. Elected Office-bearers and members of the Executive Committee of Jammu University Association (JUOA) unanimously elected Guneet Singh Sudan, assistant director (TSS), as the vice-president of the association. Sudan was earlier a member of the Executive Committee of the association. The committee also elected Ajay, deputy registrar, (admissions, research and awards), for the post of joint secretary of the
association. Teachers’
protest The Executive Council of the Jammu University Teachers Association (JUTA) has started holding a dharna for one hour on every alternate day in favour of their demand for the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission’s report. The dharna started on September 1 in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s secretariat. Their other demands include the revocation of transfer order of director, DIQA, to director, DDE, from a different cadre post; end of ad hoc system in the university; and fixation of
seniority. JUTA has sought the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission’s report, which includes raising the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65, allowances as per the HRD notification, full pension after 20 years of qualifying service, and an increase in the earned leave as applicable to central universities. |
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Students set to celebrate Teacher’s Day
Jammu, September 4 Every year, the students, especially the school students, wait for the day as they celebrate it with great pomp and show. Various schools across the city have made arrangements for the celebrations, which mark the birth anniversary of the second President of the country, Sarvapalli Radha Krishnan. “Our school has made all arrangements for celebrating the day. We celebrate the day every year in the honour of Sarvapalli Radha Krishnan,” said Paramjeet Kour, teacher in a private school. She said: “The students are anxiously waiting for the day as they celebrate it with much fanfare”. The students say they have purchased gifts for their favourite teachers and some have also written poems in praise of their beloved teachers. “We have collected money in the class and have bought a gift for our class teacher which we would present to her on the day. We have also purchased decoration items to decorate our classroom,” said Anita Kaul, a class V student of a private school in Jammu. The students would also present cultural programmes on the day. “Our school has asked us to bring our parents with us and we would also present cultural programmes to celebrate the day,” said Gunjan Sharma, a class IV student of the school. Students of the government schools in the city have also made all arrangements to celebrate the day. “Like every year, this year, too, we have made arrangements to celebrate the day. We would present gifts to our teachers and would also organise cultural programmes,” said Komal, student of the Government Primary School. |
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Initiative to bring together separated couple
RS Pura, September 4 Suprintendent of the Nari Niketan Neelam Kumari, who had been in touch with the girl’s mother, finally made her fall in line two days ago. Neelam said, “The girl has been staying with us for over a year now. After the boy got bail a couple of months ago, he and his family have been trying to contact the girl’s family and us to resolve the matter. Seeing his perseverance, I took the initiative to persuade the girl’s mother who objected to her daughter’s marriage against her wishes”. “Her aggression also toned down a lot when she saw her daughter’s unwillingness to go back to her. Our persuasion did the rest of the job. And two days ago, she gave her consent to take the case back”. Veena Kaur, too, seems determined to go back to her husband. She said, “I do not want to return to my stepmother who has become my biggest enemy after my father, an auto driver, died a few years ago”. “She wanted me to marry a boy of her choice, but I was against that as I loved Davinder Singh, who lived in our neighborhood. But my mother disliked him as he had some fight with my maternal uncle. When my mother tried to force me, I eloped with Davinder in May 2008. But my mother presented a false certificate showing me a minor. At this, my husband was put in jail and I was sent to the Nari Niketan. Now, with this new development, where my stepmother has given her consent for a patch-up, I am really happy and looking forward to stay with my husband”. Now, Neelam has been consistently pursing the case, and is all set to take the consent of Veena’s mother in writing so that they can file a fresh aspect of this case in the court to pave the way for the reunion of the separated couple. |
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Leopard panic in Chenani, Pouni villages
Udhampur, September 4 The killing of cattle by leopards has become a routine affair. Fear-stricken residents have been approaching one office or the other for solution to this problem, but nothing has been done so far. The attacks by leopards have increased during the last fortnight, especially in the Bharakh area of Pouni in Reasi district. Instead of taking preventive measures, officials of the Wildlife Department seem to be least bothered. A couple of days back, a leopard attacked Kithri Jherthi village of Chenani and killed three cattle. According to former sarpanch Ashok Kumar, attacks on cattle have become a daily affair in this belt. People have to lock their cattle in rooms in the evening to save them from the beasts, he says. A delegation from the village brought the matter to the notice of the Wildlife Department last week, but no action has been taken. Since the village is surrounded by a forest, people fear to move out alone even in the broad daylight. After a recent attack, attendance in village schools has come down. Ashok Kumar says leopards have created panic in a number of hamlets of Chenani belt. “We have even stopped working in fields early in the morning,” he says and points out that earlier, the farmers of this belt used to work in field before sunrise. The situation is almost same in the Pouni Bharakh areas where leopards have made lives of people miserable. A meeting of the residents of the Bharakh area was held recently in which it was decided to launch an agitation if the authorities failed to protect them from leopards. Residents have also been demanding compensation for farmers who have lost their cattle in such attacks. Villagers are also planning to guard the village during evening hours. |
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CM for better traffic management
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has admitted in the Assembly that the traffic system is “slightly unbalanced” in the state. He was informed that only 20 to 25 traffic cops are deployed in the erstwhile Doda district area, now comprising two more districts of Kishtwar and Ramban. Concerned over this, while starting from his office in the Civil Secretariat to his Gupkar residence over a distance of about 3 km, Omar counted 32 traffic policemen on duty. He later announced to strengthen the system not only in the two capital cities, but also on the highways and inter-district routes to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. Beggar nuisance During the holy month of Ramzan, Muslims put a special emphasis on “zakat” (charity). This has attracted beggars from far and wide to Srinagar. Show of charities is often a curse as the sight of somebody giving alms to a beggar only invites many more and they have no compunction in chasing you and pulling at your clothes consistently till you give in or burst out.
Recently, a compassionate woman was left crying in a market when a whole bunch of pestering alms-seekers surrounded her as soon as she gave money to a couple of them.
Local media’s noises against them have been growing but in vain. They particularly dislike outside beggars and for good reasons. Such beggars are aggressive and would not mind pulling at something like an ice-cream you are relishing. Lone’s ‘transformation’
The 36-day long budget session saw a “transformation” in the conduct of Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone. In the beginning, his being impatient with several opposition members was apparent and he was seen by PDP seniors like Mehbooba Mufti and Iftikhar Hussain Ansari as a “party” in controversies not as a “referee” as he ought to be. Now, he seemed to have taken their advice seriously. As days passed, it became clear that Lone was willing to accommodate the opposition as much as possible and not afraid of questioning the government when required. When the session ended, the PDP walked away with maximum time allotted to them for debates and discussions in the House. So it was his biggest compliment that fiery Mehbooba showered praise on him in her otherwise acerbic speech on the last day of the session. Hence, all is well that ends well for Lone. Garbage problem
The lifting of garbage poses a serious challenge here. Heaps of garbage can be seen on the roadsides in Srinagar. Consequently, residents as well as passersby have to face problems. Besides, polluting the environment, the garbage dumps provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which give rise to various diseases. The government alone cannot be blamed as people are also equally responsible. They have a duty to keep their surroundings clean. At some places, despite the availability of dustbins, people throw garbage on the roads while at places where no dustbins are available there is no choice. In fact, self-service could be of great help. But people generally tend to ignore it. It is high time that government as well as society should think seriously about this problem. The government in association with certain voluntary groups can tackle this problem. Waterlogged streets
The Kashmir valley witnessed a torrential spell of rain recently. The downpour, which continued for three to four hours, brought forth the problem of waterlogging on the city roads. Most of the lanes along the main roads, mainly on the crossings, were waterlogged. The problem has been faced by people here for quite some time now, but over the years no remedial measures have been taken. The authorities come to the rescue of the people only with the help of water suction pumps. However, no permanent measure is being taken. (Contributed by Ehsan Fazili, Kumar Rakesh and Afsana Rashid) |
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Tobacco products, including cigarettes, pan masala, and gutkha, are being openly sold to schoolchildren and the authorities concerned have turned out to be mute spectators.
As the admission process for postgraduation courses in various departments of Jammu University has begun, a large number of candidates desirous of joining the courses have started thronging the university campus.
